This shutdown has been so frustrating, here’s a photo of the National Zoo’s baby panda because I said so. Photo by Courtney Janney/Smithsonian’s National Zoo via Getty Images
Shutdown shut down
Finally, the long national nightmare is over … for now. Better than any NFL special teamer — except maybe Ray Guy — Congress has managed to punt the budget and debt ceiling problem a few months. If you thought putting up with this issue in the fall drove you crazy, wait til the non-stop news coverage convenes in the long, cold, dark soul of January and February. Anyway, the federal government is open for business and workers are back at their offices. Well, not the House stenographer in a strange cap to the long two weeks. But, that aside, calm has settled once again on the nation’s capital, paving the way for the return of partisan bickering just after Christmas because that’s never happened before. Who cares? Panda cam is BACK! [Sun-Times]
Drone on
New reports from the Edward Snowden documents to the Washington Post give a look behind the curtain at the U.S.’s targeted killing program, aka droning. [WaPo]
Koschman update
Absolutely not-at-all shocking news that R.J. Vanecko’s attorney doesn’t want the grand jury report in the Koschman case unsealed. [Sun-Times]
Kenya attack
New surveillance footage shows the Kenyan shopping mall attackers as the siege got underway. [BBC]
Runway run
A new O’Hare runway is open, prompting worries about noise and an opening celebration that included lots of shrimp inside an ice sculpture. [Sun-Times, WBEZ]
Stay off the trail
If you’ve been doing some illicit jogging along the Bloomingdale Trail, starting Friday you could face arrest. [DNA Info]
Facepalm of the day
If your son is facing a murder rap, a good idea is actually to not hire people to kill two witnesses and just invest the money in an attorney instead. [Sun-Times]
Maybe a bad idea
Buying stock in a star athlete? What could go wrong? [N.Y. Times]
D-Rose 1
He’s back. [Sun-Times]
Not-so-GLAAD tidings
Shocking, I know, but some Cubs and Sox fans on the Internet made some offensive comments regarding the teams’ participation in “Spirit Day,” calling for an end to the bullying of LGBT teens. [Sun-Times]
The Bright One
Mick Dumke dives into Cook County’s “medieval” court system. [The Reader]
Commute
Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays
And finally
An excerpt from an extremely rare interview with Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson. [Mental Floss]
